An exploration of the intentions and barriers towards waste reduction practices and how to overcome them from an Irish consumer perspective

Fernandez, Indira
(2018)
An exploration of the intentions and barriers towards waste reduction practices and how to overcome them from an Irish consumer perspective.
Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Abstract

Background - Of the many challenges nations deal with, the production of waste have gained strong attention due to the detriment impact in the environment and the reduction of it is on the government agenda. The European Union have set new rules for waste management and targets to be achieved by 2030. With the new targets Irish consumer and their environmental behaviour play a significant role to meet those targets. However the literature suggest that when it comes to pro-environmental behaviour there is a discrepancy between consumer environmental concerns and actual behaviour.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify what are the barriers underlying the translation of the intentions to behaviour in waste reduction practices and to identify the solutions to overcome those barriers from a Irish consumer perspective.

Design/ Methodology/Approach – The study was qualitative in nature and the findings were obtained through the conduction of 6 semi-structured interviews with pro-environmental consumers. Three objectives were set in order to answer the research question and a thematic analysis was conducted in order to identify the theme for research objectives.

Findings – The findings put forward the following barriers: lack of planning, adoption of new habits and routines, support and collaboration from others, lack of convenience, lack of recycling knowledge, retailer’s practices. The identified solutions are: provide more waste-efficient mainstream products, awareness and educational campaigns, community movements.